Depression Treatment

DEPRESSION TREATMENT

At the Morrison Clinic, we understand the burden of untreated depression. We also understand that patients hold off on seeking depression treatment due the social stigma. If you are struggling with feelings of depression or feel like you are going through the motions of life than we can help. We are honored to help you find a path to emotional wellness and we want your treatment to be tailored to you. At the Morrison Clinic, we take the time to educate you about your illness and your treatment options. In order to determine the depression treatment that is right for you, it is important to understand how depression impacts your daily life.

When you think of depression you think of sadness, right? Unfortunately for many patients the first symptom is not sadness. It can take a person a while before they identify they are depressed. Some of my patients notice that they are irritable, eat less, and struggle with insomnia before they start to feel depressed and sad. Other patients sleep more, eat more, and stop enjoying the pleasure of life for several days or even weeks before they begin to feel depressed. Depression has many faces and can also be a normal emotion. Understanding the difference between the emotion and the illness is quite important and often difficult to determine without the help of a psychiatrist or psychiatric PA.

When Does Depression Become a Medical Illness?

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the illness of depression. This illness occurs when you feel either sad or lack interest or please in your activities most of the day, nearly everyday for at least 2 weeks in a row. You must also have at least 4 of these symptoms that occur most of the day nearly every day for at least 2 weeks in a row:

weight loss or weight gain

insomnia or sleeping too much

moving slowly which could include slow speech or walking slowly

fatigue or loss of energy

feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt

difficulty with concentration

recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal thoughts

When depression becomes an illness it has a negative impact in more than one area of your life. This means it is not just occurring when you are work because you don’t like your job. It wouldn’t just occur at home because you are unhappy in your marriage. When depression is a medical illness it occurs at work, home, and in your social life. While you might be able to push through it, you are unable to function at your normal level.

Here are a few key facts about depression[1]:

Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression.

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.

More women are affected by depression than men.

At its worst, depression can lead to suicide.

There are effective treatments for depression.

Other psychiatric illnesses that causes symptoms of depression

ADHD can lead to brief bouts of depression that tend to be triggered by boredom, rejection, or disappointment in themselves or others. While someone with ADHD may feel depressed daily, each bout of depression does not last more than a few minutes or hours. Most patients with ADHD notice a significant improvement in their mood symptoms once they are on the right medication regimen for their ADHD. Working with a therapist to learn how to cope with the mood symptoms of ADHD can also be helpful.

Depression commonly occurs in people who have anxiety disorders. For example, post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder frequently cause symptoms of depression. As you can imagine, struggling with feelings of high anxiety for an extended period of time it is quite depressing. Sometimes anxiety disorders can lead to major depressive disorder. It is also a common symptom of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder.

Depression Treatment: Medication Options

Depression treatment and interventions should address your unique needs. Medications should target the symptoms that are most problematic for you. It is important to determine the symptoms which are impairing your ability to work and enjoy life. There are many different types of antidepressants on the market. The most commonly prescribed antidepressants are Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRI). The medications in these classes are all effective for depression treatment. However each has unique features that will impact the individual person’s response to the medication. For this reason, it is important to work with a clinician who understands the nuances of the medication. It is also very important to understand that antidepressants do not work quickly. You typically see a 10-20% improvement each week you take the medication. You will see the maximum benefit after 6-8 weeks. Due to the complexity of depression it is not unusual for psychiatric specialists to prescribe more than one medication.

Depression Treatment: Scheduling an appointment

We hope you found this information useful. We would love to spend some time to get to know you and determine how we can help. Please do not hesitate to call our office to schedule your new patient appointment. At the Morrison Clinic we also offer convenient online scheduling.